GTI Project Lets you Get Behind the Wheel of the New Golf GTI Before they Even Hit the Dealers

"Teenagers and video games go together like peanut butter and jelly." Ask any parent and they will likely agree with that statement. I mean seriously, where else can you command your own army one minute, and be burning around the Nurburgring at over 150mph the next? Video game artists can create anything. But, why go to all this work? Because video games offer us a chance to do things we would normally never be able to do. Or, in the recent case of Volkswagen, they give us the chance to do things we are too impatient to wait for.

May 22nd marks the official release of the new Golf GTI in United Kingdom. In preparation for the release, a team of 60 modeling specialists were contracted to turn a 750 square foot piece of floor into a miniature urban race track, with the finished produce featuring over 200 scaled buildings with a nice twisty course running down the center. The project is part of an advertising campaign being called the GTI Project, which will allow perspective buyers, "armchair racers," or anyone for that matter to get behind the wheel of the new GTI and take a semi-relaxing drive through the city.

At the core of the GTI Project is a computer based racing game that uses a 1:43 scale model of the new GTI with a small camera mounted on the top and the aforementioned course. You are given 3 chances to put up your best lap time, which could land you in behind the wheel of a new GTI if you can negotiate the complex course fast enough. Each time you race, you are entered into a drawing that could end with you cruising around in the new Golf for 3 months.

Along with the fun that comes with a flashback to careless childhood fun, VW has incorporated information and performance data about the GTI into the game. What would a racing game be unless you knew how fast 60mph comes from a standstill right?

Along with the game, the website also provides links that allow you to request more information, build your own GTI or even schedule a test drive at a local dealer. Of course we all know the game is the most important part.

According to the current leader board, the fastest lap so far was run in 13:13 seconds. Think you can beat that? The game can be found at the GTI Project Homepage. Be careful though, if you try to corner too fast it will cost you precious seconds. Not to mention the game is addicting. Happy racing!